Smartphones Make up Half of Japan’s $10.8Bn Games Industry

Smartphones Make up Half of Japan’s $10.8Bn Games Industry

Smartphones Make up Half of Japan’s $10.8Bn Games Industry

by Emma McDonald

According to market-intelligence firm CyberZ, the Japanese games market was worth $10.8 billion in 2013, with smartphones accounting for half of all consumer spending on games.

Smartphones games generated $5.4 billion, a huge jump from the $3 billion, or 30% of the market, generated in 2012. Notably, this growth is coming from native apps which generated $3.2 billion last year, compared to browser games which made $2.3 billion. CyberZ anticipates this growth to continue with the smartphone market reaching $6.5 billion by 2014.

Last month, Japan was the number one country in terms of revenues generated on the iPhone and GooglePlay stores, according to Distimo & Newzoo.

As I've watched over the years, it seems Japan really loves their handhelds looking at sales over the years. Their appreciation for small handhelds on the island is evident when traveling on the rail transport systems as well.

I can see that being true. Japan does have the worlds most advanced mobile infrastructure in the world, and have for years been far more advanced in mobile phones and the networks that connect them.

**** Japan and their handheld market, bunch of casuals.

Why is system wars all about discussing the news instead of original topics.

The PS4 and Xbox One are the highest selling consoles of all time at this point, the PS4 is shattering records. Candy Crush is not going to satisfy people's gaming needs, those are built for non-gamers who dont care about games.

That's really sad...But it's their lifestyle and their choice. Batman Arkham Knight will sell 5 copies there.

Not surprising. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if Batman and Final fantasy 15 struggle to sell more than 1 million copies there. Mobile gaming is taking over at an alarmingly rapid pace. Our smartphones will be as strong as our PS4's in a few years time.

They sound like great candidates for Microsofts AR VR glasses.

lol no console gaming isn't going anywhere

and thats why console gaming is dying over there.

and it shows. their games back then were way better than now. consoles dont sell much anymore. when ps2 came out, japan was half the market, now i dont even think its a relevant territory to console makers unless you make handheld, which is nintendo

Handhelds have been huge in the country for a while, and phones are really booming. It's not that surprising.

Fastest selling consoles,that´s what he meant.

What kind of casual you must be to play on a cellphone? Do not compute.

The kind of revenues that cheap mobile apps are making is insane... Last year, Candy Crush Saga made over $1 billion (comparable to COD Ghosts), while Puzzle & Dragons made over $1.5 billion (comparable to GTA 5).

LMAO so much for the "master disgrace" sales argument. We all practically know with the decline of PC hardware going over to tablets and MACs that those PC game sales figures were coming from somewhere else and that they were bundling it with smartphones and tablet games now here is proof.

Enjoy your tablet and indie games hermits because it's all you got left LoL LoL LoL ;)

lol yes because Angry Birds>>>>>>>>GTAV
rite?

Japan is a small nation with small people with small thoughts and small er thang. Who cares? The next gen consoles are breaking records. Blockbuster games>>>>>your casual phone crap.

Smart phones are ruining the world.

Everyone is a zombie now. I make it a point now to not look at my phone when I go out, in fact I think I'm going to revert to a flip phone that does nothing other than call and text because literally anyone under 40 when they are met with a second of downtime on a train or in between classes is just staring at their phone. Nobody is doing anything meaningful on them either, just mindless browsing.

The problem is that cheap casual mobile apps like Angry Birds, Candy Crush Saga, Puzzle & Dragons, etc. are making as much revenue as AAA games for only a tiny fraction of the budget and quality of your average AAA blockbuster. When a cheap mobile app like Puzzle & Dragons (which cost peanuts to develop) makes as much cash as GTA V (the most expensive game of all time), it's no surprise that so many Japanese developers are giving up on AAA gaming to chase after that smartphone gold. Not saying it's right or wrong, but that's just the way it is.

Meaningful? What's meaningful anyways? What can you possibly do on a 15 minute metro ride that could be considered meaningful?

im sure there will be at least 1 console manufacturer forever....

whether it be sony/xbox/nintendo or someone else.

the market is too big.

So then what do we call the land in the country that are actually Islands if the whole thing is now magically one island?

Geography wars.

People still think of games like Candy Crush when it comes to mobile games?

I see more than those nowadays. I should borrow my wife's Samsung tablet. Dead Space for Android should be free in the Samsung app store....I think.

No casual marries their DS: http://travel.cnn.com/tokyo/none/love-plus-scourge-takes-another-life-man-marries-video-game-687520

What? Did this make sense to anybody? There is literally zero context for this comment...

Heck. Even flight sims are making their way into mobile gaming. Nice.

X-Plane and Aerofly FS. The graphics have been downgraded from the PC counterparts. But, they're still okay.

Disagree.